Despite the porcelain Peter Rabbit cookie jar prominently displayed on our kitchen countertop, Mom only preheated the oven once every month or two to fill it with homemade treats. Instead, she dropped Little Debbie chocolate snack cakes or oatmeal cream pies into our insulated lunch boxes for our desserts at school. But on the rare occasions she plugging in the handheld electric mixer to cream butter and sugar, she always turned to the Nestle chocolate chip bag as her recipe.
My younger brother and I anxiously hovered in the kitchen, pleading to help place spoonfuls of dough onto the stained baking sheets. We needed to supervise the bowl as she scraped and shaped. Make sure to leave some for us, Mommy!
Sitting cross-legged on the tile floor, I drew a line down the center of the wide metallic mixing bowl. I smooshed my finger around my half in straight lines to get my fair share of the “leftover” cookie dough, while my brother haphazardly scraped his side in squiggles and circles. Mom generally pretended to forget about a couple of chocolate chips in the bowl too, and we divided those evenly, sneaking an extra one from the bag if necessary to even our shares.
When the timer dinged and Mom granted us permission, we grabbed a warm cookie from the cooling rack and sank our teeth into the soft dough. Melted chocolate oozed across our fingertips, which we happily sucked off before reaching for more.
Eight years later, as a high school freshman in Health Class, I stared at the Food Pyramid as I soaked up the teacher’s lecture. Less sugar… Lower fat… Sweets in moderation… That afternoon, I eliminated the Tollhouse recipe from my repertoire and vowed to bake only healthier low-fat cookies.
In the ensuing decade, I realized one fatal flaw: most low-fat cookies didn’t feel right. With proper ingredient ratios, they could taste as rich and sinful as their indulgent counterparts, but their texture fell closer to that of a cake-like muffin than a soft and chewy cookie.
So 2 months ago, I challenged myself to create the ultimate healthy soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie. After 7 different batches, my 10 taste testers agreed: this is it!
I started with the butter because it was the biggest obstacle in developing a healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe. After countless tweaks, I noticed a trend. To achieve a chewy texture, the cookies needed a minimum of 18% of their calories to come from butter (or margarine). Anything less resulted in a bready muffin texture. Six tablespoons for 2 dozen cookies provided the perfect amount of chew.
To further increase their chewiness, I used melted butter. This means you can stir the cookie dough together with a spoon. No electric mixer required (and one less thing to wash)!
Although other bakers and bloggers proclaim that extra egg yolks also increase cookies’ chewiness, I completely eliminated them and just added egg whites to lower the fat and cholesterol. Don’t worry, the cookies will still be chewy! We started with the perfect amount of melted butter, remember?
Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature! If still cold from the fridge, they’ll chill the melted butter and partially turn it back into a lumpy solid. Not good! To warm up your egg whites the easy way, place the entire egg in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes while measuring the dry ingredients.
I also mixed in a touch of skim milk to increase the moisture and better balance the liquid-to-dry-ingredient ratio. Feel free to substitute whatever you usually store in your fridge: 1%, 2% whole, rice, almond, soy… We want to keep these cookies simple so you don’t need to buy any strange new ingredients!
We’re going to add more vanilla than most recipes require. Extra vanilla mimics a buttery flavor, without the excess fat and calories. You’ll need 4 teaspoons for these healthy cookies.
While the Tollhouse cookies call for half white and half brown sugar, I opted for all brown. Brown sugar increases the moisture and chewiness of these skinny chocolate chip cookies and also adds a subtle hint of caramel. Yum! Either light or dark brown sugar will work.
As you probably predicted, I reached for regular all-purpose flour for this recipe. It is imperative that you measure the flour correctly (see here for details). Adding too much results in dry, crumbly, muffin cookies instead of the extra soft, extra chewy ones we want. Sprinkle in a little salt for flavor, and you’re all set!
As for leaveners, I selected baking powder. Some recipes list baking soda as well, but I omitted it for 2 reasons: (a) to simplify the ingredients list and (b) the cookies lack a good acid source to activate it. (Baking powder = baking soda + added acid. Yes, I’m still a chemistry geek at heart!)
I also stirred in cornstarch. Cornstarch helps the cookies stay thick and moist. It sounds strange, but it’s been my secret weapon for many of my cookie recipes! (See here, here, here, here, and here.)
Finally the most important part: the chocolate chips! My tongue dances and my eye roll back in my head a bit every time my teeth hit a large gooey chunk of melted chocolate, whereas disappointment sinks in on the bites without. To counteract the latter, I measured out regular semisweet chocolate chips for the big burst as well as minis to ensure every bite contained some chocolate. Most taste testers agreed that they preferred a 2:1 regular-to-mini chip ratio.
To mix up the dough, simply whisk together the dry ingredients, stir the wet ones in a separate bowl, combine the two, and fold in the chocolate chips. So easy! I usually reserve about half of the mini chocolate chips to press into the tops of the dough just before baking as a pretty finishing touch. They look so tempting—they’re practically begging you to eat one!
Before popping in the oven to bake, you must chill the dough. Chilling is mandatory for thick cookies. Try to refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes. I prefer chilling mine for 4 hours, but I know that’s a struggle with out-of-control cookie cravings!
These lightened chocolate chip cookies require barely any time to bake—just 10-12 minutes. They will look and feel slightly underdone, but they’ll continue to cook while sitting on the warm baking sheet.
Whew, that was a lot of information! Here’s a quick recap of the key components of the Ultimate Soft and Chewy Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
»» less butter, and melted for chewiness
»» more vanilla for buttery flavor
»» brown sugar for moisture and chew
»» cornstarch for softness and thickness
»» regular and mini chips for more chocolate throughout
»» chilling for thickness
»» baking 10-12 minutes for softness
Ready for a tall glass of milk and a big stack of cookies?
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your cookies and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
Psst… My newly released Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook is full of sweet and healthy recipes like these chocolate chip cookies! Learn more and buy your copy here!
| The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies | | Print |
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- 6 tbsp (84g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slighlty
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) skim milk
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (192g) coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (56g) regular chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp (28g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter and egg whites until small bubbles form (about 15-30 seconds). Whisk in the milk and vanilla extract. Stir in the brown sugar, smearing out any clumps along the side of the bowl. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the regular chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips. Cover the top with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes. (See Notes.)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Drop the cookie dough into 24 balls onto the prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly to about ¾” thick. Press the remaining mini chocolate chips into the top of each. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to sit on the warm baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Do NOT overbake these cookies! After 10-12 minutes in the oven, they’ll still look and feel slightly underdone, but they’ll continue to bake and set on the warm baking sheet for the 10 minutes after.
For a vegan version, use coconut oil or margarine in place of the butter, 1 tablespoon Ener-G + ¼ cup warm water in place of the egg whites, and non-dairy milk in place of the skim milk.
For a gluten-free version, see this recipe of mine.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour.
It's extremely important to measure the flour correctly, using the method outlined in the links above or a kitchen scale. (I highly recommend a kitchen scale! This is the one I own, and it has been the best $20 I’ve ever spent. I swear by it!) Too much flour will make your cookie dough dry and your cookies turn out cakey or crumbly.
For a more decadent treat, I highly recommend using these dark chocolate chips in place of the regular chocolate chips!
{gluten-free, clean eating, vegan option, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
Hello Amy! I made these a while ago, and they were really nice! I was really sceptical at whether they’d work since there’s so little butter, but it did! You’re really amazing!
They tasted really good, but they weren’t chewy though, so I was wondering if you knew how to fix that? It tasted more like the biscuit you’d use in yoyos or melting momenta rather than a choc chip cookie. Maybe I mixed everything together wrong?
I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies Jasmine! If the cookies weren’t chewy, then there was most likely too much flour in the cookie dough. Did you measure it as instructed at the link in the Instructions? You can also bake the cookies for 1-2 fewer minutes to help increase their chewiness, and make sure they aren’t too thick when you bake them either. All of those tips should help with your next batch! 🙂
I did measure it correctly, but you’re right, maybe that is why. I thought they’d be nicer thick (and I thought it’d make them chewier) so I left it! 😮 Maybe next time I’ll flatten them down a little. 🙂
Thanks! I’ll give it another shot.
Yes, that extra thickness would be the culprit! With low-fat cookies, thicker balls of cookie dough will lead to a cakey or bready texture since they just don’t have the extra butter content of traditional recipes. Flatten the cookie dough to at least half of its original height before baking, using a spatula if the dough is too sticky, and combined with a shorter baking time, that will greatly increase the cookies’ chewiness. 🙂
I love that you’re trying to make healthier baking…..but how are these healthier? Brown sugar is still brown sugar – the carbs in that still spike blood sugar. Flour is still flour, and still more carbs.
I guess I feel compelled to leave a remark, since the title of the article is “the ultimate healthy chocolate chip cookie” – with all due respect, either you are being intellectually dishonest with yourself, or you don’t understand what healthy means, or you’re just making things up and using “healthy” as an SEO marketing ploy.
Healthy does not mean no eggs – it means free-range or pastured eggs. It doesnt’ mean less butter – it means grass-fed butter. It doesn’t mean brown sugar instead of white sugar, because that doesn’t change anything. Neither does the all-purpose or even unbleached flour, unless it’s using a flour that has way fewer carbs.
The thing that makes people healthier is lower glycemic ingredients, nutrient-dense and whole foods.
I’m disappointed to say the least, and hope that you will experiment making something that’s actually healthy, and renaming this post.
Best wishes.
Loved these! After the first batch I realized they didn’t spread out much, which made for a very soft and chewy cookie (just like the name of the recipe)! The 2nd and 3rd batches (I made 1.5x the recipe) I smushed down more and added extra mini choco chips and BAM! The perfect chocolate chip cookie, I also chilled the dough for 4+ hrs, used coconut milk and accidentally got some yolk in there too, but these were delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies Natalie! As a chocoholic, extra chocolate chips is always acceptable at my house! 😉
I have been looking for a lower calorie choc. chip cookie and these were fantastic. They turned out just like you said they would. I will try some of your other cookies next. Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies Susan! That means a lot to me that you want to try my other cookie recipes as well. Thank you so much! I’m excited to hear what cookie recipe you bake next! 🙂
Hi Amy, I just made this with my son today and we love it! Had been looking for a lower calorie cookie recipe so this fits the bill. Just wondering if I can tweak it in the following ways, would it still work?
1. Add 1 whole egg (with yolk) instead of 2 egg whites
2. 4 tbspn of melted butter instead of 6
3. Replace 1/2 cup of flour with roll oats
Would this work? Do I need to add anymore milk? Thanks!
I’m so glad you and your son enjoyed the cookies Esther! If you prefer to use whole eggs, then use 2 whole eggs and decrease the butter to 5 tablespoons. If you’d like to incorporate old-fashioned oats, then substitute ¾ of flour with ½ cup of old-fashioned oats. I’d love to hear how those tweaks turn out!
Made these cookies today and added some peanut butter chips along with the chocolate chips. Turned out absolutely amazing, can’t even tell they’re healthy! Thanks for the amazing recipe x
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies Nivie! I love your peanut butter chips addition. I’ll have to remember that for the future!
Hi! Many thanks for posting this – your recipes have been so helpful whilst I’ve been dieting! I made a half batch and used sugar free choc, light marg, almond milk and truvia instead and they turned out gorgeous (at 67 cal each too)! My one issue is that they turned out really small (3 inch) as there didn’t seem to be enough dough, and the dough I had was too sticky to separate. Any way of remedying this?
I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies JP! Since I haven’t made these cookies with light margarine or Truvia, I don’t know how those affect the texture of the cookie dough. It could be that’s why your dough was so sticky. If it’s too sticky to roll the next time you make the cookies, then drop the cookie dough onto the baking sheets in rounded scoops using a spoon and spatula, and use the spatula to flatten the dough slightly if you want the cookies to spread further. (You can see how I use that method of dropping the cookie dough onto the baking sheet in my videos here. Skip the first video, but any of the others will demonstrate that method!) 🙂 I’m excited to hear whether that works for you!
My cookies didn’t look anything like the ones you have posted, but they came out Spectacular! I was skeptical about a low cal cookie recipe, especially since I wasn’t a fan of the dough. Thanks for the new recipe!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies Tracy! 🙂
I have a question sort of, if the cookies are suppose to be healthier then why did you use “all purpose flour”?
I have learned about 6-8 months ago that my spouse is suppose to not have white flour or refined sugar, which is also in the brown sugar. Why not use oat flour and raw brown sugar?
I’m sorry if I sound like a “Debbie Downer” but I’m not, I’m just trying to learn the difference and have so much to read up on and then more questions pop up in my head, it’s just overwhelming sometimes ?
Thank you so much for what you do though, it is appreciated and a lot of your recipes are used in my house hold ?
Have a nice day❤️
Sorry but coconut sugar just popped into my head and it’s consistent is exactly like brown sugar but not as sweet, would that work?
I created this recipe almost 3 years ago before I was aware of what “clean eating” was. Based off of your questions, I think you and your spouse would prefer the clean eating version of this recipe, which is linked to at the bottom of the Notes section underneath the Instructions. It contains coconut sugar and no refined flour. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of that version if you try it Amy!
Hi Amy!
I made these cookies for my family the other day and all of us (all 11 kids and 2 parents!) LOVED them! My mom couldn’t get over how soft they were! It’s hard to find something to bake that all 11 kids will like, but this did the trick! Thanks for the amazing recipes! Can’t wait to try another one!
Wow!! I’m so honored that everyone in your family loved the cookies Angelina — thank you for sharing that with me! 🙂 I’m so excited to hear what recipe you try next!